Tuesday, October 27, 2009

My Upcoming Writer's Center Classes & Poet Lore Celebration

January 25: How to Talk the Talk: Focus on DialogueDialogue seems as though it should be easy since we all talk! But written dialogue should reverberate beyond the sounds of everyday conversation, serving many purposes: revealing character, moving the story forward and supporting your setting. How to accomplish these effects in your own fiction and memoir? This supportive, hands-on workshop offers tips and techniques that will help the voices of your characters come alive. We’ll be doing a number of exercises in class, so bring pen/paper! 1 session.More info here.

March 4: The First Pages: What Makes a Good Beginning?Most writers know that they have to “hook” their reader from the start of the story or novel, but how exactly do we do this? What, in other words, are the elements that make a great beginning to a story or novel? You’ll find out in this workshop, as we explore ways to strengthen your opening pages. Everyone is invited to bring 20 copies of the first page of one of their stories/novels/essays/memoirs for some hands-on advice. 1 session.More info here.

Also, the Writer’s Center will be hosting a celebration of Poet Lore: “Poet Lore, the nation’s oldest continuously published poetry journal, marks its 120th anniversary on November 14th at The Historical Society of Washington. Executive editors E. Ethelbert Miller and Jody Bolz—along with the journal’s publisher, The Writer’s Center—welcome three premier poets who published in the journal early in their careers—John Balaban, Gary Fincke, and Myra Sklarew—for an evening of celebration and poetry.”